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Network : Fresh Tastes
: Dec 2001
EATING WELL AND SURVIVING
THE HOLIDAYS
Too much to
do, not enough time-- it seems to be a common lament this time of
year. A 36-hour day would be nice, wouldn't it? Those were my thoughts
too, before IC. But having been diagnosed with IC for more than
ten years has made me re-evaluate a lot of things. Today I don't
see a longer day (so I can get more done), as a realistic solution
during the holidays. Running around at a hectic pace just makes
my bladder hurt... and the more I do the worse it is. What I really
need, I've come to realize, is a shorter and more leisurely day.
But good luck with that in December. This month I envy the felines
of the world-- no holiday shopping frenzy, no nervous waits in long
lines at stores and restrooms. Nope, cats are at home by the fireplace
doing what they do best: cat-napping. I like their approach to the
season-- slow down, stay warm, take care of the body's needs first.
It's something I have to remind myself of constantly, but I've found
it really is key to surviving the holidays without a horrendous
bladder flare.
One thing I
want to avoid for sure this month is spending hours standing on
my feet, whether in the kitchen or elsewhere. Shopping via the internet
has been very helpful for keeping me off my feet. Yet there's still
the rush, the long list of things to do. I'll still have some general
holiday tension. It will stress my bladder, so I know I'll need
to stick to my diet and pamper my bladder as much as I can for most
of the month of December. I like to plan ahead: I know I'll probably
be cheating on my diet around Christmas time and New Year's Day...
who can resist fudge? But my bladder can tolerate the cheating better
If I've stuck to my diet scrupulously in the previous three weeks.
Not easy to do, but worth the effort to be able to be a bit more
flexible at Christmas.
That's something a number of women in my local IC support group
have noticed too. Getting away with a small amount of irritating
food is more likely if one hasn't been sneaking bits of irritating
foods off and on in previous days and weeks. There seems to be something
additive about the effect of these foods. I call it the "bucket
principle". An allergist put it this way: picture your body's
tolerance as a bucket that fills with water. It fills as you eat
irritating foods, encounter things you are allergic to, become emotionally
stressed and physically tired, do bladder-irritating activities,
or forget to take your regular IC medications.
Eventually it
spills over the brim and you have increased pain and urinary frequency.
Then as you carefully monitor your diet, get plenty of rest, avoid
irritating activities, and faithfully take medications that help
you, the level in the bucket goes down. That, he explained to me,
may be why we are better able to tolerate a particular food at one
time than at another: when the bucket is nearly full it doesn't
take much to make it spill over.
So, being aware
of the "bucket principle", I know that for dinners most
of this month I'll want something quick to put together and bladder
friendly to boot. That's not an easy-to-find combination. The packaged
and frozen meals I depended on in my pre-IC years are now pretty
much out of the question. They have too many irritating flavor enhancers
and preservatives. And fast food? Not an option this month. Fast
food fare usually involves acidic pickles and tomatoes, tyramine-laden
cheese, and/or "who-knows-whats-in-it" sauce. If I ditch
the cheese, pickles, sauce, and tomatoes, I'm left with a plain
dry bun (which may or may not have bladder-irritating preservatives)
and a slab of mystery meat (which may or may not contain bladder
irritating fermented soy products).
So, what can
I make from scratch, quick? Well, if I plan ahead in the morning
or early afternoon, and have 20 minutes to spare, I can put together
the ingredients for a mild but tasty beef soup. I put it in my crock
pot slow-cooker, then head out the door, knowing that a hot and
delicious dinner is waiting when I get home. A slow cooker is a
great piece of kitchen equipment for the harried IC cook!
Here is a very
versatile recipe in that it can be soup or stew depending on how
much thickening and water you use. You can also add leftover vegetables
if you're trying to clean out the fridge. And it's a hearty meal
when paired with french bread. Another of the wonderful things about
this recipe is what it doesn't have: common soup/stew ingredients
that may be problematic for IC bladders. It has no onions or paprika
for instance. It also omits some typical beef soup ingredients that
cause flare-ups of vulvar pain for those of us with vulvodynia:
celery, parsley, and black pepper.
SLOW-COOKED BEEF SOUP
servings: 4
1 lb. beef stew
meat, cut in bite sized chunks
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 14-oz can beef broth (see note below)
1 cup water
1-1/2 cups baby carrots, cut in half
2 large boiling potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
1 cup frozen peas
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. flour,
cornstarch, or arrowroot
1 tsp. Brown sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 pinch ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. orange extract (optional)
1/4 cup cold water
In a brown
paper bag or plastic food storage bag, shake beef chunks with the
2 tablespoons of flour to coat. In a large skillet, brown the beef
in olive oil. Remove beef to the slow cooker. Add beef broth and
1 cup of water to the hot skillet, scraping up the browned bits.
Pour into the slow cooker. Add carrots, potatoes, peas, garlic,
and bay leaf to the slow cooker.
In a small bowl
or a cup combine the tablespoon of flour, the brown sugar, salt,
allspice and ground cardamom. Gradually stir in the cold water and
orange extract to make a smooth mixture. Pour over the meat and
vegetables. Put the lid on and cook until meat is tender, usually
about four hours if set on high. (Time may vary. Check the instructions
for your slow-cooker and use the time recommended for soups or stews.)
Note: The kind of beef broth you use is very important-- it needs
to be free of monosodium glutamate (MSG). MSG is a common ingredient
of most beef bouillon cubes and canned beef broth. Health Valley
makes an excellent fat-free canned beef broth that is also free
of both added crystalline MSG and MSG that is contained in such
things as soy protein isolate. The only drawback to the brand is
that it contains a smidgen of white pepper. White pepper is milder
than black pepper and the tiny amount in this soup is generally
not a problem for most IC bladders. Those with oxalate sensitive
vulvodynia may want to check it out carefully though.
Also, you don't
have to use a slow cooker. You can speed things up by bringing it
to a boil, then letting the soup simmer on the stove for about an
hour and a half to two hours.
The Interstitial Cystitis Network
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